Certainly, the Padres’ first choice would be to play well and be able to retain Headley. However, since they play in the same division with the San Francisco Giants (who have won two of the last three World Series) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (who now boast the game’s largest payroll), that will be a difficult task. The Padres want to wait for all their good young prospects and players to develop, which is realistically two years away.

"We’ve increased payroll more than (the amounts gained from added TV) revenue," (Padres Owner Ron) Fowler said.

"I was convinced the headliners of the PED era were not going to get in on the first ballot," said Gwynn. "But I thought Craig Biggio had a strong chance. And I thought Jack Morris and Jeff Bagwell had a shot.

"I was hoping someone would get in. But right now, voters are saying we need more time."

"The Newark Bears are excited to welcome Garry Templeton to our organization," said the team’s owner/CEO/GM Danielle Dronet. "Garry was an All-Star as a player, and has a proven track record as manager in both the minor leagues and independent baseball. We believe that his hiring is the first step toward winning a championship in 2013."

Will Venable, first base coach Dave Roberts and Black spent more than 30 minutes before Sunday's game on the field working on bunting.

With no one else on the field, the left-handed hitting Venable worked on drag bunting first. He then turned his attention to push bunting down the third-base line.

"That's right, I'm a baseball player and not a question and answer," he says. "It's not in my contract [to talk to the media].

"Hopefully, we’ll get five innings out of him," said manager Bud Black. "He’ll be able to go beyond 70 (pitches)."

But the Padres have lifted themselves out of the lower tier and suddenly .500 looks less like a goal and more like an expectation. It’s realistic to think that the Padres should contend for next year’s one-game playoff.

"I understand that scenario A had this, and scenario B has this, and it seems scenario A has $200 million more dollars, so I understand what you are asking," said Laurel Prieb, V-P of MLB's western operations and special projects. "But I would think that MLB would tell you to look at each case on its own merits, and scenario A, it wasn't a signed purchase back in January for a variety of reasons, and that one went by the wayside.

2 people who've seen tentative 2013 #MLB sked say #Padres will host #Yankees in 3-game series and visit #RedSox.